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Opines Dheeraj Kumar who feels that the Star TV- Salman Khan deal will bode well for both the actors as well as producers

When a channel like Star TV and a superstar Salman Khan, who delivers consistent hits, strike a deal, it is definitely going to be a win-win situation for both the parties. Besides, raising the expectations, such deals will also open up new business avenues for the entertainment industry. So, businesswise according to me, such a collaboration will be beneficial to both the star and the producers. With a deal already in place even before the film’s release, the producers too have a reason to be happy, as they are guaranteed a definite return on their money invested. The statistics are all worked out in advance before such deals are signed.

This will also mark a new beginning for the television industry. During the 1990s there was only one private television channel, Zee TV. Along the years, numerous channels emerged and made their presence felt. With new players in the market, the format also changed. Apart from daily soaps, new concepts like reality and comedy shows were introduced.

The Star TV-Salman Khan deal, I feel, will set the ball rolling with a number of new concepts being introduced. Irrespective of the films’ (included in the deal) performance at the box-office, even if five out of the three films work well at the box-office, then it is going to bode well for the television industry.

Should our channels go the HBO way, produce independent films and release exclusively on their channel? In India, we have production houses like Reliance Entertainment, Eros International who are trying to introduce the studo module a la major international studios like Star Fox, MGM, Warner Bros. But on television, I don’t think it is possible for our channels to go the HBO way and exclusively make a film with a big star like Salman Khan as the cost and investment to make a film is gigantic.

While this will introduce interesting changes in the television industry, producing films seems a remote possibility even now.